Rio Ferdinand calls out Jamie Carragher
Rio Ferdinand calls out Jamie Carragher
Manchester United legend Rio Ferdinand has taken a cheeky dig at Liverpool counterpart Jamie Carragher following Casemiro's performance against Manchester City. He questioned whether the Brazilian still needs to leave the Premier League side and move to theSaudi Pro League or MLS.
Speaking on his podcast, Ferdinand recalled Carragher's comments from 2024, when he urged the Manchester United star to leave top-flight football in Europe. The Red Devils legend believes that the statement looks worse with every performance and said:
"Has football left Casemiro, is it gone? I dunno, is it back? That statement looks worse and worse all the time, because even this season he’s done well most of the time. I always think this when you look at players in teams and they’re not doing well, it’s more than just that they’re not good enough."
"There are sometimes big reasons as to team structure and shape of the team, and maybe the relationship with the manager, that isn’t enabling them to perform. It isn’t just about a basic – he isn’t good enough, you’ve got to get rid of him – you’ve got to look into these things a bit more at times."
The Athletic have reported that Casemiro has a clause in his contract which will see his deal extended by 12 months if he starts 35 matches this season. He has started 19 so far, meaning he will trigger the extension if he starts all remaining matches.
What did Jamie Carragher say about Manchester United star Casemiro?
Jamie Carragher was on Sky Sports in May 2024, when he claimed that 'football has left Casemiro' and the Manchester United star should leave the European top flight. He believed that the midfielder should consider leaving the Premier League side and move to the MLS or the Saudi Pro League to protect his legacy and said (via Metro):
"‘I think Casemiro, deadly serious, should know himself tonight that he should only have another three games left at the top level. The next two league games and the cup final, then he should be thinking, I need to go to MLS or Saudi. His agent or people around him need to tell him this has to stop because we are watching one of the greats of the modern time, Champions Leagues, playing for Brazil, playing for Real Madrid."
Casemiro has continued to play a key role for Manchester United under Erik ten Hag and Ruben Amorim, who have left the club. He is currently in the final months of his contract at Old Trafford.